Mark drove straight to his private beach house three hours away.
He wanted Lily far away from the main house and from Evelyn.
He hired a trusted private nurse to care for Lily around the clock.
The little girl was still jumpy whenever she went near any stairs.
Mark sat at a small wooden table looking out at the ocean waves.
His personal investigator named David arrived with a thick manila folder.
David was an experienced investigator who specialized in high financial fraud cases.
David: Mark, I found what you were looking for regarding Evelyn.
Mark: Tell me everything you uncovered today.
David: She was secretly transferring money into an off shore account.
Mark gripped the edge of the wooden table firmly.
Mark: How long has this been going on behind my back?
David: Over eighteen months, totaling nearly two million dollars.
David placed several printed bank statements on the table surface.
The papers showed clear daily transfers authorized by Evelyn using Mark's signature stamp.
Mark realized she had been planning to leave the country very soon.
Mark: Why would she put Lily in danger like that?
David: The trust fund you set up for Lily was locked until her adult years.
Mark: Unless something happened to her safety or health.
David: Exactly, the secondary trustee would gain immediate access to the estate.
Mark felt a cold rage settle deep inside his stomach.
He realized Evelyn was not just careless on that balcony rail.
She was trying to trigger a massive payout from the family trust fund.
Her high spending debt had caught up with her in secret.
Mark: I need full legal action started immediately, David.
David: My team already secured the security camera footage from your hallway.
Mark looked up in surprise at his trusted investigator.
He had forgotten about the tiny security camera mounted near the flag painting.
Mark: Does the video show what really happened up there?
David: It shows everything clearly from start to finish.
Mark: Call my divorce lawyer right now.
David: We have enough evidence to freeze all her accounts today.
Mark walked over to the window and looked out at his daughter.
Lily was playing safely in the fenced garden with her nurse.
He knew he had to protect her future no matter the cost.